Recently, on the Parallels corporate blog, , where the salaries of developers in the west were given with the words "in any case, Russian salaries do not yet reach European ones." The frequent encounter with how people very selectively compare the living conditions of Peter the pig and those who did not leave prompted me to share some observations about life in the USA from the inside. The purpose of this post is to encourage you to approach the issue in a comprehensive manner and make a comparison of apples with apples, rather than pointwise comparing what is profitable and turning a blind eye to other important aspects. If it seems to you that there are other subtexts in this article, please attribute this to the fact that "the Chukchi is not a writer" and, if possible, ignore them.
daily life
In order not to rush to the calculator in the quarry, I would like to first share some observations about daily life in the States. Still, not money and a single career.
Disclaimer: The observations below are not meant to be representative, based on two years of residence in Bucks County, PA with very frequent visits to New-York City. As a tourist, a dozen and a half states were visited.
Roads and cars
For many, America is associated with highways and five-liter kilometer absorbers. And quite justified. Therefore, I consider it quite appropriate to begin the story of daily life in the states with this topic.
Roads, signs, drivers
Among the obvious advantages, I would like to highlight a few things. Firstly, many secondary road intersections have stop signs instead of traffic lights, before which the driver must stop and continue driving in the first-in, first-out order. Thus, the traffic calms down, and at the same time, there is no need to wait for a green signal at an empty intersection. Continuing the theme of waiting for traffic lights, I would like to recall that they are adaptive in the states: a camera usually hangs on a mast with a traffic light, which regulates the time of the green signal depending on the traffic in each direction. Another indisputable plus is the presence of dedicated lanes for turning left and right - it's wonderful when you can drive in the extreme lane and not think that you will need to change lanes before the intersection because there is a turn for a turn. Road quality is a tricky issue. Varies from neighborhood to neighborhood. When compared with the roads of St. Petersburg, it is worse. If we compare the average for the hospital, I believe that it is better, although I do not have a sufficient sample in terms of travel by car in Russia. Also, it is worth noting noticeably less aggression on the roads of one-story America (but God forbid to get into New-York City). After that, on the roads of the same St. Petersburg there is a feeling of the coming Karmageddon.
On the other hand, the same pluses given above have a reverse side of the coin. The adaptability of traffic lights, for example, plays a cruel joke if you ride a bike. You can wait for your green until you turn blue, because the camera stupidly does not see you. Also, I have not seen a countdown board at traffic lights, which I think is due to their adaptability. It is extremely frustrating to drive 60 miles per hour, to see suddenly appeared yellow and try to figure out whether to slow down or accelerate. The calmness of the drivers can similarly be irritable: often there is a traffic jam due to an overly leisurely character or drivers very politely letting each other pass at the junction of the roads. But the most significant drawback, I think the lack of lighting. There is usually a dim light bulb at intersections, but otherwise there is simply none. At all. And okay, if you are driving in a stream where the headlights of a bunch of cars in general maintain an adequate level of illumination. But an empty road late at night in the rain turns into an extremely unpleasant and even dangerous place.
A separate topic is pedestrians in one-story America. Firstly, drivers, in my opinion, forget about their existence and waiting to be let through at a pedestrian crossing is a thankless task. Secondly, transitions themselves are a rare thing. But the wildest thing for a European is the lack of footpaths in most places. After some time, you get used to walking along the side of the road, but at first it creates severe discomfort.
Parking places
Due to the fact that it is almost impossible to live in one-story America without a car and everyone understands this, everything is fine with parking in such an area. It is very quickly forgotten what it is like to search for a parking space at home or at the office. And in addition to this, most of the places are designed so that a hefty pickup truck can get there, and accordingly, on a midsize sedan, you can park almost diagonally without disturbing anyone.
But, when traveling to any city, the issue of parking should be taken care of in advance. There is either street parking, where you usually canβt leave your car for more than a couple of hours, or private public parking, prices for which can vary greatly: from $10 a day in Philadelphia to $16 for half an hour in NYC.
Monthly parking in Philadelphia starts at $200, while in NYC get ready to shell out $500.
Violation of the rules: police, fines, points
Once I was driving my Mustang to a conference. The road is three hours, the music is playing, and the V8 hums blissfully when the slipper is sunk. Well, the gas pedal and pressed deeper than permitted. One and a half hours - everything is fine, I'm going ahead of schedule, when suddenly a car jumps out of the side of the road and the flashing beacons turn on in the rearview mirror. In my head, I panicky remember Hollywood films and what needs to be done. Right turn signal, curbside stop. From the left, a policeman wearing a sheriff's outfit and a cowboy hat on his head comes up. "Are you aware that you violated Maryland law?!" Major Payne's martinet roar resounds. "I'm guilty" is the only thing that comes to my mind. Documents to the officer, two minutes of waiting for him to punch something in his car, and voila - an A4 plastic sheet with a nasty figure of $ 280 fine for 91mph with a tolerance of 65mph. And an equally impressive-looking letter with the headline State of Maryland vs Pavel *** a week later. But if only it was a fine. Violations in most states award points that increase the cost of insurance in a healthy way. After this incident, I watch the speed very carefully.
The only βbutβ in this story is that many states prohibit or do not use automatic speed cameras. So knowing the district and the typical locations of police cars allows the locals to pile on quite well in most cases.
Car service
Something bad happened to my car: the gearbox died a long time. Fortunately, when buying this used Mustang with the GT index, I understood that it was unlikely that they drove it only to the bakery and the church, and, accordingly, I purchased an extended warranty from a third-party company. Visit to the nearest Ford dealer, storytelling, car handover and warranty contracts. It would seem that everything is fine: a week and everything will be fixed. But no, more than a month of wasted time, several iterations with the jambs of both the warranty company and the dealer, ending in the need to call a senior manager at Ford and promise to involve lawyers. In total, more than a month of nerves and an obsessive question: why is the American service better than ours?
Accident, the speed of the response of the police and ambulance, the speed of payment from the insurance
A whole day of communication with the client, a vegetable condition, the road home at a pensioner's pace. Powerful car without modern electronics and rain. The result is a skid and a bump. 9-1-1. A maximum of five minutes and the police with an ambulance are already here. Registration of the protocol, refusal of hospitalization by painting on the iPad - 15 minutes. The car is picked up by a tow truck called by a police officer to an affiliated parking lot. From home, filling out an application on the insurance website. Several answers to questions on the phone, a week of waiting and a check for total loss compensation with a figure higher than the purchase price. Reverse obsessive question: why can't our traffic police and insurance companies work as quickly?
Auto perception
The attitude of Americans to cars as consumables is very unusual. Scratches, dents - no one pays attention. You walk, you see a fresh Aston Martin with battered bumpers, and there is dissonance in your head. Service basically β oil change, pads and all. A bunch of pickups, which fit to carry a tank of gasoline on a trailer. German cars are expected to be more expensive than usual, and the quality of American cars leaves much to be desired.
Toll roads
Bridges are often paid, and in general there are many toll roads (tolls). Entry and exit from NYC is all paid. For example, Lincoln Tunnel charges $16 toll.
Public Transport
Single story america
It's all sad here. In fact, there is no local transport. Yes, local buses run once an hour, but on such routes that it will take forever to get to the desired point. Electricity coverage is poor. Footpaths - mostly either in historical sites or in poor areas. Accordingly, being left without a car and being away from shops and settlements is very unpleasant.
Trains run between cities, often battered. From Trenton / Princeton to NYC, either an hour and a half for $ 16.75 (NJ Transit). Or an hour for $50 (Amtrak). And for parking at the station you will need to pay at least $ 6 per day. A cheaper alternative is intercity buses, but their punctuality is questionable.
Cities
NYC, DC, Boston, San-Francisco - everything is much better. Further on the example of NYC. $2.75 per subway ride, no passes. A cool feature in the subway is the presence of express trains. They stop only at relatively large stations and, if necessary, make a long journey, save time. On the other hand, the subway is very dirty and unstable. Often on weekend evenings, something breaks somewhere, and the train can be expected until the second coming. It is difficult to move by land transport - traffic jams. I donβt know who drives in NYC - both insane traffic and pedestrians who do not pay attention to traffic lights.
Environment
Contrasts
The fact that the United States is a country with a huge gap between the poor and the rich can be seen with the naked eye. Neighboring blocks of the city can differ radically: you literally cross the street, it was just expensive and rich, and already there are houses with boarded up windows and African-American characters, from the mere sight of which the legs begin to move faster. In one neighborhood, a Bugatti Chiron can stand by the hairdresser and everyone smiles at each other, and in a town 10 minutes away there is poverty, homeless people, devastation and shootings.
Cities
Cities in the US are fundamentally different from Europe. First, they are ugly. Secondly, they are dirty and there are many homeless people. You walk after Peter/London/Paris/Amsterdam/[substitute yours] in NYC and your soul howls. Thirdly, living in them is either very expensive or not very pleasant. Studio rentals in normal parts of Manhattan start at $3k per month. Purchase of one bedroom - from 500k$ and monthly deductions for tax and maintenance, which will most likely be more than 1k$. Local tax in cities is large. Food is expected to be more expensive. Lack of green spaces. Family living is weak. A lot of places smell like marijuana so that you can have fun just passing by.
Single story america
Unexpectedly, there are many animals that are not particularly afraid of people. Squirrels, deer, hares, marmots, skunks. Very cute and cute. However, all this cuteness also likes to run out onto the road, causing not the most pleasant emotions.
Modern houses are built from sticks and plywood. Including three-four-storey apartments. Yes, this is done very quickly, but in total with small areas where only a grill can be placed, the cost raises questions. And the price for a house in any town in Pennsylvania / New Jersey starts mostly from $500k.
Mentality
The first and main point is tolerance. This is good, but in some aspects it may be unusual. A simple example from a training session at a major medical center in NYC:
Given:
Philip is a gay man who works in the finance department. Several times in the past month, he happened to overhear several of his colleagues discussing their opposition to gay marriage while they were waiting for the elevator (and Philip was just passing by).
Question:
Does Philip have the right to leave a complaint to management about harassment?Correct answer:
Yes. It doesn't matter that the comments of Philip's colleagues weren't directed at him. Philip should report this to Human Resources and Regulatory.
The African-American component of the population is quite specific and can be extremely unpleasant. There are a lot of different nations, each of which needs its own approach.
Work from home, lack of colleagues
My experience speaks of the high prevalence of remote work. Accordingly, you may not see your colleagues for several months.
Online shopping and buying everything on Amazon, delivery and drop off at the door
Only when living in the USA is the full power of Amazon realized. I ordered Prime for $14 per month and almost all deliveries are free the next day. If you want - ordered a sofa, if you want - a can of tuna. I wanted to return something - I came to the nearest UPS, gave the goods without any explanation, and the money was instantly returned to the Amazon account. Insanely comfortable.
Specificity - the courier delivers to the door and leaves the parcel there. That is, she lies and waits for you on the street. There were almost no problems with this in my location. But how this formula works in less prosperous areas is a question.
Finance
Filing taxes and influencing claims from the state
The item that I would really like to see in my homeland. It would seem that you also work on W2 and your employer deducts all taxes for you. However, the amount of tax deducted is fully indicated in each paycheck (and not just personal income tax with concealment of deductions in the IFTS). And then, at the beginning of the year, you file a declaration showing the amount of taxes paid for the past year. And when you clearly see that $30k a year went to the state, the desire to demand normal roads, infrastructure and other things from the state increases greatly.
Credit rating and banking specifics
A special feature of American reality is the dependence of everything and everything on a credit rating. You just arrived in the states and you fall into a trap. They won't give you a normal credit card, because there is no rating, and you can't earn a rating without a credit card. And the question is not only whether you can borrow. To apply for the same tariff plan on a cell phone, you need a rating. Internet home - rating. Cashback - mostly only on credit cards. Rescues Discover and second-rate banks a la Capital One.
Also, checks are in high demand. This is a piece of paper where your account number is indicated and where you write the amount and who it is addressed to. In many places you can only pay by check or money order (prepaid transfer, in particular Western Union).
Vacation
Number of days of holidays and vacations
My vacation is 3 weeks. In addition to this, there are 9 days of federal holidays. In Russia, as Consultant suggests, there are 14 holidays. That is, by default, a week more rest. And in addition to this, in Russia there can be no less than 28 days of vacation. So 2 weeks difference.
A separate story is a decree. Simple story. In the US, it is not paid unless the company wishes to do so.
Fly somewhere far and expensive
Do you want to go somewhere on vacation? Get your wallet ready and plenty of time. Flight to Europe - 9 hours and at least $500 for a return ticket. To another coast? Six hours and at least $300 for a return ticket. Forget to go to Europe for the weekend with a low-cost airline.
Education
Good university - expect $40-50k per year. It is very difficult to get a grant for an undergraduate degree, especially if you do not have a poor family.
The quality of education, which I can judge only by observing the education of my acquaintances, does not cause a feeling of unequivocal superiority over education in good universities at home. And my experience of studying for a semester in Germany seems to be more positive than closely observing studies at Columbia University.
Expenses and income
Itβs worth starting with expenses, because usually people forget that in the United States, not only wages are higher, but spending is also significantly higher.
Monthly expenses
Based on my experience of living in a one-story American Pennsylvania, 40 minutes from Philadelphia and 15 minutes from New Jersey.
- Honey. insurance (+employer) β $83 (+$460) per month
- Housing - $ 1420 per month one-room apartments
- Communal - $ 50 per month
- Phone, home internet - $ 120 per month
- Auto insurance, gasoline - $230-270 for insurance + $150 for gasoline ($2.7-3 per gallon)
- Groceries - 450 (350-600) $ per month
- Dining out - $60-100 for two - $200 per month
- Shopping / shopping / entertainment - $ 300 per month, for example $ 16 for a movie at AMC with a good advertiser
Spending if you want to stay
Pension
Few people expect to live only on the state pension, because it will be extremely difficult to do this. Accordingly, most save in special IRA/401k accounts and invest in stocks/bonds. It is recommended to set aside 10% of income.
Education
Above were the figures for education. Obviously, it is worth keeping them in mind when planning a family.
Treatment
Here you need to carefully monitor what kind of Deductible and Out-of-Pocket insurance is in your insurance. In the beginning, before the accumulation of Deductible, you cover everything out of your own pocket. Then the insurance company connects and covers part of the expenses until you spend the amount indicated in the Out-of-Pocket. Accordingly, in order to sleep peacefully, it would be good to have an Out-of-Pocket amount in a savings account. Anything happens. For example, the cost of an MRI at my Blue Cross Blue Shield varies from $200 to $1200. My Deductible is $1.5k, Out-of-Pocket is $7.5k.
Buying a home
You can navigate the cost of housing on Zillow.com. But as current approximate figures - $ 500k for a one-room apartment in a normal NYC area, or the same amount for a house in an average one-story America (which clearly does not include California, so beloved in terms of salaries).
But buying is part of the problem. We must also not forget to take into account the property tax, which in NYC averages 0.9%, in New Jersey - 2.44%, and the average nationwide - 1.08% of the property value per year. In addition, there are the cost of maintenance (HOA fees), which will be in the NYC in the region of $ 500 per month for apartments.
Salaries
And finally, the point that they like not to cite very correctly in various articles.
The order of pay figures by city and company can be seen on Glassdoor. What is usually forgotten in those same articles is the fact that z.p. in the US, they are before tax. The tax is formed from three components: federal, state and local tax, and depends on the presence of marriage, children, filing individually or with a partner, and a number of other factors. The tax is progressive. A specific figure can be estimated on Smartasset, but on average it can be roughly estimated as 30%.
Let's do a very rough calculation:
- Take the Amazon Software Development Engineer mentioned in a recent Parallels article. According to Glassdoor, his salary is $126k per year (which is similar to the $122k listed in that article)
- Married developer after taxes will receive $92k per year or $7.6k per month (single - less than $6k per year)
- Let's rent a one bedroom apartment near Amazon's NYC office for $3.5k per month (based on offers on Apartments.com), leave the communal apartment within the margin of error. Accordingly, transportation costs can be discarded.
- We will put aside 10% for retirement - another $ 760
- Imagine that we want to put aside for an undergraduate degree at a good university (New York University) - $ 50k * 4 years in 20 years = $ 800 per month
- It remains $2540 per month with the cost of food and services (hello, $100 manicure) noticeably higher than in Moscow or St. Petersburg
Is it worth it purely for the money - as for me, the big question. Career prospects and an incredibly high theoretical ceiling - of course. The comfort of a life where you can only rely on yourself is up to you.
Source: habr.com